Town quiet as kiddies enjoy Thanksgiving break

This is the week of Thanksgiving and Rico has become very quiet with maybe two or three vehicles on Main Street! The preschool and elementary students have the week off for Thanksgiving break, and they are nowhere to be seen. We think that our families are on their way to grandma and grandpa’s house for the holiday. The quietness actually reminds us of the year we arrived in Rico some twenty-plus years ago. At that time, there were approximately 75 year-round citizens, except when our longtime seasonal friends were in attendance and they added dozens more to the count.

When we arrived in town, we were fortunate to be able to learn of the early history of the area from the “old-timers” like Lucy Fahrian, Ann and Jim Ferando, Myron and his mother Jessie Jones, Kay and Dan Crane, Helen and Grady Leavell and the summer friends who had been residents for 50 to 60 years or more! (I forgot to mention the Carnahans.) There are many more old friends that I didn’t mention, of course, and we will remedy that at another time, soon.

Our Rico Volunteer Fire Department received a call-out recently. A big-time rollover just up a stretch above the “S” curves beyond the town. It was a one-car accident, and the one male was airlifted to one of the hospitals — either Southwest Memorial, Durango’s Mercy Hospital or Grand Junction.

Over the weekend, we received a couple of inches of snow and the next day it was gone. It will come — the question is how much longer will it continue to be football weather? I hear mention of the dryness of the area around here. It means that some are becoming just a bit concerned. It is a good thing that Telluride has snowmaking equipment! I do not know when the resort plans to open.

We hope all of you had a special Thanksgiving Day and continue to have a wonderful weekend. I wish that we could travel to grandma and grandpa’s house for Thanksgiving dinner like in the olden days. We have been fortunate that we could do that in days gone by.

Marlene Hazen has lived in Rico for two decades. An active member of the community, she participates in organizations such as the Rico Women’s Club and Rico Historical Society.